My Rotary Clubs

My sponsoring club: Meredith, NH, USA
http://www.meredithrotary.org/Who_We_Are.html

I am lucky enough to live in a community that has a very active Rotary club. The Meredith Rotary Club out of Meredith, NH, has graciously agreed to sponser my outbound trip to Ecuador. They have been nothing but encouraging, friendly, and supportive. They always welcome guests to their weekly Wednesday evening meetings, and they always have delishious food! Every time I have been to a Rotary meeting, they have made me feel at home and accepted. There is not a single Rotarian who has not seemed interested and excited for me and my upcoming adventure. They have come to me with questions and advice reguarding my trip. With all of my new involvement in the club, my Dad even became interested and has recently become a Rotarian himself. Attending Rotary meetings has been incredible because I finally understand what it is that Rotary stands for, how it works, and how much Rotarians do for the community. Each meeting I am enlightened by a different presentation and it is wonderful to learn about new things every week.  The Meredith Club is a great group of people and they're generousity never ceases to impress me. Also- cool fact- The Meredith Rotary Club puts on the largest annual non-profit fishing derby in the United States. How cool is that?

I would like to thank Dean Gulezian, who is the outbound/inbound coordinator for the Meredith Club. He has been a tremendous help with the interview process, all of the application paperwork, and other questions I have had during preparations. He has made sure that as an exchange student, I understand how Rotary works and that I am representing my host club well when I go abroad. He encouraged me to attend meetings when I could. He even held a goodbye party at his own beach spot, for me and the other departing inbound and outbound students. I really appreciate the extra time and effort he gives because without his position, exchange wouldn't happen for Meredith students.

I would also like to thank Angela Webster, the mother of my best friend, and the Rotarian who offered to be my sponsering club counselor. She has already made me feel comfortable and is always there when I need her. I am so glad that I have someone I trust so much to talk to when I need advice or when I miss my home. She has already been in touch with me to check in and I really appreciate her love and support.

And to the members of the Meredith Rotary Club; I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart, because without your commitment and support to Rotary, I wouldn't have a club to sponser me. I look forward to presenting about my exchange year when I return in 2014.

And finally, to Phil Ehret and Bob MacDonald; thank you so much for giving your time and energy to the inbounds, outbounds, and rebounds of Rotary District 7870 (NH and VT). From our first interview, to our final orientation, you made sure we were prepared for a year abroad and gave us all the tools we need to have a successful exchange year. Your many efforts to try and make the information and rules about exchange as accessible as possible, and organizing everthing on your own, shows just how much you care about the exchange students and the program. I can tell that you want the best experience for every exchanger and I am grateful for all of the advice and support you have given and will continue to give. Thank you for everything.


My host club: Machala Moderno, Ecuador
http://www.guimun.com/ecuador/negocios/3797/club-rotario-machala-moderno

I look forward to meeting my host club, host councelor, and host families when I arrive in Ecuador. I plan on updating this page with thank you's once I become acquainted with everyone, but thank you in advance for agreeing to host me!

THANK YOU, ROTARY!!!